ICC ODI World Cup Final: How keeping calm under pressure helps captain draw up a winning strategy

Indian captain Rohit Sharma. (File photo)

If there is one quality which is going to be a huge asset in a high-profile World Cup final, it has to be the ability to remain calm under pressure. That is what Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain exhibited this quality multiple times which made him such a successful captain. The current Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, may not be seen as Dhonisque cool and yet he is as assured and as composed as the former Indian skipper. Just before this World Cup, this writer asked about how the Indian captain manages to stay so relaxed and stress-free, questioning whether it comes naturally.

“I think it is natural. How to stay relaxed is something you can't practice like what you should do to stay relaxed, there is yoga and all, but it is built in you and it's your nature. Since childhood I really liked staying relaxed, not complicating things too much and getting hurried is not my style,” explained the Indian captain who is on the verge of being only the third Indian captain to lift an ODI World Cup trophy.

Also Read: ICC ODI World Cup 2023 Final | What Rohit Sharma can do to maintain the streak against Australia

Over the last one and half month, Indian cricket team has been on a roll. Winning 10 out of 10 games before the final is unprecedented and now they are just on the cusp of something extraordinary. So, what comes to your mind when you think about World Cup trophy? “I only see the world cup, not anybody else, the three pillars and the globe on it, I see that. I have not won any World Cup, T20 World Cup I have, not the 50-over one. It's the most challenging one and it has its own charm. We also have a history as we won in 1983, 2011 and we have won World Cups and what all happened in that tournaments remains in your head,” says Rohit.

During the 2011 World Cup, the Mumbai batsman came agonizingly close to be selected but couldn't make it to the squad. In the past, he had spoken about the hurt of missing out at that time and hence this writer could not resist the temptation of asking if that time if anybody had told him that not to worry as he may lead India a decade later, would he have believed?

Also Read | Rohit Sharma on 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia: 'Biggest day of our lives'

“No, I don't think too far ahead. In sport, the good thing about it is that you can make a comeback, whatever the situation, any phase in your career, phase, age you can always make a comeback,” says the Indian captain philosophically.

Apart from his leadership, Rohit the opener has been in outstanding form as well. He is the only one with over 500 runs whose strike rate in power play is around 133 and has hit sixes and fours at will. He has got the nickname Hitman but he often looks like an effortless stroke player. “I am not the massy muscle type player, but I like to hit the ball very hard. When I started playing cricket, we were told that timing is very important, the aerial shots that we play were not supposed to be played in school. Also if you hit the ball in the air, people might get hurt and we didn't have the nets and we had to play grounded shots and it started like this only that you time the ball and you are in the line of the ball,” explains Rohit who has evolved as one of the most complete all-format batsman for India in recent years.

Perhaps, this is the last ODI World Cup where both Rohit and Virat Kohli are playing together the final of the tournament. While Rohit has batted fearlessly, Kohli has been a master accumulator with over 700 runs in a single edition of the World Cup which is a record. More often than not, they have spent so much time in the middle that many wonder that what happens when the two giants often meet each other on the 22-yard pitch?

“See, we have discussions about what we have to do in this series, whenever we meet, we discuss about who are the players we need to look out for, which bowlers we need to target, what to do what not to do, we talk about these things basically,” reveals the Indian captain. If either Rohit or Kohli goes on to make a memorable ton in this World Cup final, and the other one plays a supportive cameo, the probability of India’s win will rise enormously. And what is more, it will be a dream farewell for two of the modern giants of world cricket.